Ag Finance Groups Donate to Maui and Fertilizer Prices Continue Down
From the Ag Information Network, I’m Bob Larson with your Agribusiness Update.
**Farm Credit Association, American AgCredit, CoBank, and
Farmer Mac, are donating $40,000 to the Maui Food Bank to help after the devastating wildfires wreaked havoc in Hawaii.
CoBank’s Brenda Frank says, the contribution is intended to address their immediate needs and reduce suffering of those impacted by the wildfires.
Farm Credit has been a strong provider of financial support to Hawaiian farmers and ranchers for over 50 years.
**The U.S. Trade Representative's Office welcomed a report from the World Trade Organization on U.S. steel and aluminum tariffs.
The WTO report recognized that U.S. Section 232 actions on steel and aluminum are security measures, and that China illegally retaliated with sham "safeguard" tariffs.
Retaliatory tariffs imposed on American ag exports led to an overall $27 billion reduction in U.S. ag exports from mid-2018 thru 2019.
**Fertilizer prices have continued their year-long-plus decline through the first two weeks of August.
The University of Illinois’ FarmdocDAILY reports on a per pound of nitrogen basis, urea and liquid nitrogen fertilizers have historically been priced at a premium of 35 to 40% above anhydrous ammonia.
However, the premium narrowed in 2022 as the Russia-Ukraine war disrupted global fertilizer markets.
The decline in fertilizer prices improves return and income prospects ahead of the soon-to-be-released crop budgets for 2024.
